7 Best Advanced Secure Web Hosting Practices to Keep Your Site Safe
Nowadays, we often hear about cyber attacks on various servers. It harms the site owner and the users in multiple ways. So secure web hosting is vital. Web Hosting is the service offered by a company given to the web services business to Internet users.
This service consists of renting an area on a physical server that will allow you to store content like HTML files, dynamic scripts, images, videos, or any content accessible via the web.
This article will describe some of the advanced practices for secure sites or web hosting that you should know to keep your site safe. And almost never down your site if you follow 11 Things To Do If Your Website Is Down.
01. Choose a Reputable Web Hosting Provider
Web hosting providers are more essential to your website security than you would think. Your website sits on the traffic that goes in and out, forming your website from the physical space. Your web hosting provider plays an intimate role where your security is concerned.
For example, web hosts often take ordinary line items like antivirus and anti-malware. Some web hosting providers also offer anti-spam, automated backup and recovery systems, and, if you’re lucky, even use a Content Distribution Network (CDN).
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Shared hosting sometimes comes with some risk, counting on the online hosting provider. Suppose you have many websites under a single account, accessible from a single FTP account.
All it takes is for one to urge those infected by malware to compromise the other opposite sites.
02. Always Keep Backups
Do you remember the last time you backed up your server data? If you haven’t done this in the previous few days, it’s time to do it. Backing Up your files and server data will take a couple of moments of your time, but it will significantly affect the protection of your data.
Some critical information about the companies is stored on these web servers. Companies face serious problems when server data is lost.
A server backup is significant to overcome this problem. Generally, web hosting companies provide backup services daily, weekly, or monthly, which are done automatically. However, in some cases, it has to be done manually.
So take a good look at all the backup terms before signing a contract with a web hosting company. You will get the conditions as a question mark in the small superscript above your server’s backup tab.
Then ensure if it is easy to restore data from the backup or not. If you are the victim of a cyber attack or security breach, you will not lose everything if the data is backed up somewhere secure.
03. Use SSL and Firewall
Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) certificate is becoming an essential factor in site hosting. SSL certificates help ensure visitors that their site information is genuinely encrypted and safe.
It permits users and visitors to put their trust in a site. Today, SSL is becoming crucial that most Internet browsers warn users if a site is not using an SSL.
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There are a couple of sorts of SSL certificates, and therefore, the prices for every certificate vary. You don’t have to worry if you’re running a personal site or even one for a small business.
You can quickly get a free SSL certificate. It is easy to install. You can do it in a few clicks in either Plesk or cPanel.
04. Prevent DDoS Attack
A DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack is a simple and authentic problem in recent times. It is an effective cyberattack that can move down popular websites.
In DDoS attacks, hackers flood a website’s servers with so much traffic that it becomes unavailable to real visitors.
DDoS is very difficult to handle when it’s already attacked. It will be the best solution for web hosting providers to take necessary precautions against DDoS attacks before they happen.
Web hosting providers must also have the proper equipment to prevent DDoS attacks when they occur.
Therefore, if your web host offers DDoS protection and you haven’t already purchased it to protect your server, it is high time to get and add it to your server.
05. Install Updates, Applications, and Plugins
When you’re asked to install a patch or a security update, you should install it immediately. Moreover, it would help if you manually keep an eye out for security updates and patches every once a week, rather than automatically.
The sooner you install these, the more protected you’ll be from vulnerabilities and security breaches.
You must remember immediately change default settings, such as login credentials. It will prevent them from being used in hacking attempts.
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When selecting plugins and applications, You should look at their age, amount of installs, and updates. It will help you determine whether the software is still active. Inactive software may be rife with security issues.
You have to install software only from trustworthy sources. And it will protect you from possible malware infections.
06. Use a strong password
You might have heard about it somewhere or seen it in the movies that hackers quickly break passwords. Yes, an easy Password is indeed a recipe for disaster for the hacker.
In these times, hackers are wise enough to have complete files called dictionaries full of commonly used passwords. They use these passwords to test against a site’s defenses.
Passwords should be matched with the various user categories for an internet site. The most robust passwords should be used for admin staff and guest authors since they can potentially impact the site. When a suspected hacking attempt is suspected, all passwords must be changed immediately.
More Secure Note:
When updating the CMS (Content Management System), password changes are also required. You should avoid the username domain's “info@yourdomain.com” form. These domains are pretty common and easily attacked by hackers.
Lastly, the different user categories must be permitted with only the minimum access privileges they need for their purposes. It would help if you did not allow unrestricted file uploads. Must limit these uploads only to what users need. It will help to prevent hackers into the site.
07. Use a Little Common Sense
Besides, you should remember some basic, Common security practices when protecting your dedicated web hosting from attacks and security breaches.
For example, always confirm you’re on a trusted network when logging into your hosting account. Entering your credentials over a non-secure network (such as that free public Wi-Fi at your local coffee shop) may expose your information to potential hackers.
Make sure that anybody with login access to your dedicated hosting plan is conscious of this also.
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I hope this article will help you prevent cyber attacks on your sites and ensure your client’s security.